The Trump administration announced this week it would direct $12 billion of one-time payments to American farmers struggling under the current trade war induced by its tariff policies.
Caleb Ragland, the president of the American Soybean Association, says the bailout is welcome news, "but it's far from covering the total problem."
"They say an average soybean acre lost $109 this year, and this economic bridge is probably about 25% of that total," Ragland said. "So it'll help, but it's kind of putting a Band-Aid on an open wound."
Ragland, who grows soybeans, corn and wheat on his family farm in Magnolia, Kentucky, said what farmers "really need long term is market based solutions for exports."
American soybean farmers have been especially hard hit by the trade war with China this year, after their market lost $20 billion in President Donald Trump's first term when China responded to tariffs by turning to South America for soybeans. China stopped purchasing American soybeans this May, which instead increased imports from Argentina, the country that received a $20 billion bailout from the Trump administration in October.
This year's trade war pushed some soybean farmers to the brink of bankruptcy, though China promised to resume buying American soybeans in late October after reaching a deal with the Trump administration.
But Ragland notes that tariffs haven't been the only factor plaguing farmers in recent years, citing their increased costs of production from the rising prices of fertilizer, pesticides, equipment and insurance. One domestic solution he says would help is extending tax credits for American soybean farmers turning crops into biofuels.
"I would describe it as death by a thousand cuts," Ragland said. "The trade war and tariffs added some more cuts, but we were already bleeding."
In the Trump administration's press release announcing the $12 billion "bridge payments" to farmers, they blamed farmers' current woes on "disastrous Biden Administration policies" and "market losses from foreign competitors engaging in unfair trade practices that impede exports."
At a press conference announcing the payments to farmers, Trump said "We love our farmers, and, as you know, the farmers like me, based on voting trends."
Ragland — a three-time Trump voter — said there is uncertainty in how the $12 billion will be distributed, as the administration says it will release commodity-specific payment rates by the end of the year, with those payments being released at the end of February.
"Similar to many of the trade announcements and other things, it's a situation where they announced a program but they didn't announce the details, and we're still kind of in the dark, trying to figure out exactly how all that's going to work," Ragland said.
Farm Flavor, a publication covering agricultural issues, reported this week that federal records show Kentucky's agricultural exports to China fell by nearly $17 million between January and August of this year, a drop of 13.3% compared to the same period in 2024.
Ultimately, he said farmers would rather not rely on government handouts to stay afloat, which can only happen with the elimination of "obstacles that are making us uncompetitive."
"We don't want to constantly be needing some type of economic assistance program from the government," Ragland said. "We simply want opportunities from the market, and we need to make sure that barriers are not in place."
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